Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Glassman's New Ambition

When political pollster Stuart Rothenberg handed out his "End of the Year Awards,” he named Tucson’s own Rodney Glassman as a nominee in the “I’m Betting You Haven’t Seen the Last of Them” category alongside the likes of Delaware GOP Senate nominee Christine “I’m Not a Witch” McDonnell.

That’s a safe bet. Glassman, who gave up his seat on the Tucson City Council earlier this year in an unlikely bid to unseat U.S. Sen. John McCain, is already maneuvering to become the next chairman of the Arizona Democratic Party.

Arizona Democratic Party Chairman Don Bivens, a Phoenix attorney who has done a great job raising funds but not such a great job at winning elections, is considering calling it quits, if he can find the right person to take over the gig.

So far, Glassman is making a lot of phones in pursuit of the job, but Bivens doesn’t appear convinced that Rodney is the man to replace him.

Many party regulars are trying to convince Andrei Cherny, who raised more than $720,000 in his unsuccessful campaign for state treasurer, to jump into the race.

Cherny has demonstrated that he can raise big bucks, especially if he taps his connections to political bigshots like Bill Clinton and Al Gore. But so far, he’s been reluctant to commit to the race.